Top 5 Maintenance Tips

Download the Tropica app - applink.dk/tropica/
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:43 Tip 1 trimming plants
05:28 Tip 2 Clean the glass
07:50 Tip 3 Maintain filter and hose
12:23 Tip 4 Feed the plants
13:27 Tip 5
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[@BringerOfFire]

15:52 George, that tank is unlevel!

[@Handygrrl]

Great video! Please make more short instructional ones like this!

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

Thanks! Will do!

[@comment.highlighted]

Yes. I’m always up for better ways to maintain my tank. Thank you 🙂

[@chelmsford6774]

Pruning is key I find, thanks George/Tropica 👏

[@TheGodvszombies]

Very good video. Couldn’t have come at a better time for tomorrow when I need to clean my tank

[@Largo1981]

Nice video, very usefull 👍

[@WhiteCloud746]

I adore George

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

So do we!

[@jamesshepherd2480]

Great video George useful tips. I used to use a lot of tropica plants and fertiliser but lost faith when I but some of the tropica root tabs in two of my planted tanks. I have learned from using other root tabs to always check my parameters the next day .Especially ammonia because I would stick root tabs in and would have a ammonia spiking the next day and would have to chase it for the next week doing small water changes every day to bring it down. Not a good experience.

[@florentincioaba7989]

Bravo from Romania

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

Multumim Florentin

[@Matthias.Terboven-Aquaristik]

Great Video 🤗

[@aquascapeangelfish]

Very good video

[@se5908]

After some years of experience, I tend to let the leaves on the stems, when planting them new after cutting. Why? My personal experience is, in a healthy, not clinical looking tank with a lot of plants and good biology, a good amout of rotting biomass is very well dealt with naturally. my shrimps and snails are happy, and the left overs from the leaves etc rot into new nutrients to the roots. I fed my plants for month with co2, liquid fertilizers and light - why shouldnt i benefit from the biological cycle in getting them nutrients back for free!? especially in low tech tanks with no co2 / nearly no liquid fertilizing, the tank started thriving into beautiful growth, after the washed out soil was filled with mulm all around - wonderful growth and balance kept which I havent been able to achieve in newer similar setups, which are under 10 or 12 months old!

[@sorscha]

I haven't had an aquarium running for years now and keen to get back into the hobby. I'm particularly interested in heavily planted tanks. My recollection of maintenance a couple of decades ago involved a lot of vacuuming the substrate which of course was just gravel back then. Am I right in thinking that's gone with the new era of proper plant substrate, so long as the fish load is light? Thanks so much for these videos and I've installed the Tropica app ahead of my new tank down the track!

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

Great to hear you want to get back into the hobby and you are using our app for that. You are correct regarding the vacuuming. Best of luck with your new tank.

[@RWAquariumPages]

great vide! george is such a great presenter. will remember these tips for my maintenance. Love this triangular scape, what dimensions or size is that aquarium? 90p?

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

Hi! George's great indeed, and we're lucky to have him. It's the oase scaperline 90, so yes a 90p

[@Urodoc2011]

When should I plan my trimming admist photoperiod..I can see when u were trimming plants are releasing bubbles..your advice?? P.S. can't get time in early morning or late night for maintenence 😌

[@Finkeldinken]

Old gardner hack: You trim when your scissors are sharp. In other words: trim when you can do so easily. That's always better than procrastinating because the perfect time never comes around, and thus those plants wouldn't get trimmed at all. 🙂

[@kento7899]

I have planting tongs but they don't work for me. I tried and tried to get the hang of it put I push the plant down into the substrate, let go and the plant floats right back up. So, I went back to just using my fingers.

[@aidandalton7404]

I must admit I even use plant weights. So frustrating when cuttings float.

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

Have you also tried inserting the cuttings sideways? and all these alternative techniques? But yeah, at the end of the day whatever makes your experience easier and more enjoyable is the best option; it might be more pleasant to just get your fingers in there.

[@walterotiepka1460]

I'm always worried about the hoses coming loose from the glass uptake and return they are just pushed on

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

It's a rather fair concern...we also think about it sometimes. 😅 hopefully it'll never happen

[@Jodan01]

Wäre schön wenn auch eine Deutsche Übersetzung dabei wäre… machen ja schon viele

[@Handygrrl]

Was verstehen Sie nicht? Ich koennte es versuchen...

[@Jodan01]

Ja nö wenn sie jetzt z.b auf Green Aqua gehen dann auf Übersetzungen da kann ich die Übersetzung in deutsch oder in einer anderen Sprache anwählen… so wäre es schön

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

You are right Joan, we'll look into it.

[@MumenRider78]

How long is a setup classified as new?

[@usamachaudhri7993]

What do you use to clean the hose and lily pipes??

[@roydaniel5642]

When trimming my stems, the bottom portion typically does not have leaves. So if I would to trim, the stem left in the substrate is leaf less. Will it still grow? How do you deal with that?

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

When you trim your plant's stems, sometimes the bottom part doesn't have any leaves. That's totally normal and happens because those leaves don't get as much light and nutrients as the top ones. If you accidentally leave a leafless part of the stem in the soil, the plant can still grow new leaves and roots, but it depends on different things like the plant type, how much light it gets, and the nutrients in the soil. It's best to leave some healthy leaves on the stem when you trim it so that the plant has a better chance of growing back.

[@twistedpenguin7817]

Is there any specific time to trim plants? Like early morning, or afternoon?

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

Whenever you feel like is the perfect time, preferably before a water change.

[@bmcc901]

The dosing of the ferts is quite vague going with the recommended instructions I’m adding Tropica Specialised Nutrition and dosing daily about 3-4 pumps 6-8 ml I noticed you also prefer daily dosing but did 10 pumps of the Premium fert which is 20 ml That seems quite high going with the instructions I have a low tech 250 litre set up but I have a lot of plants and fish stocking is also high I do at least a 50% water change weekly and I have Tropica soil as a substrate I don’t use Co2 but plants in general are doing reasonably ok I’m now wondering if I should be increasing my fert dosing

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

Hi, unfortunately it isn't easy to find a formula that works for everyone. You would have to look out for plant deficiencies and tailor the amount of fertiliser to the needs of your tank. We'll soon release a more in depth nutrition guide on our app.

[@Leo-xb2ng]

promo sm 🌷

[@snerg64]

Can I humbly offer a few words of advice regarding filming in this one. Please feel free to hide my comment and maybe consider my opinion. First of all, if you are going for a clean white background (not sure why so clinical, btw.), keep your frame rigid. When tilting and panning, make sure nothing else gets into the frame, like a piece of random furniture. Doesn't it contradict the setup? Another point is to not cut your lecturer out of frame. George, your haircut gets trimmed weirdly at some point, and then also your forehead. It all looks like a one man job? Maybe more video cuts are needed then. To feel more comfortable before speaking out the main lines, start filming 2-3 minutes earlier, naturally rumbling towards your spiel. It will look more relaxed. Make a bullet point and pause so you know when to cut it out later on. My question about cuttings and replanting. Why would you remove 10cm of leaves from the stem before replanting. Wouldn't they add nutrients to the soil and also hold stem firmly before leaves rot away? Possibility of polluting tank (?), I do not get that bit at all. If you keep any fish, you would want your plants to be firmly anchored tight. Different to empty plant only tank or fresh starter. All the best, B.

[@TropicaAquariumPlants]

Hi B Your comment will definitely not be hidden. Thanks for taking the time to help us out 😁. We'll certainly take the advice into consideration and try to get better next time. As far as the second part of the comment goes, here comes a hopefully exhaustive explanation. Removing 10 cm of leaves from the stem before replanting can help the plant conserve energy and focus on establishing new roots. By reducing the amount of leaves, the plant can redirect its energy towards root growth, which will help it to become established more quickly in its new environment. As for the possibility of polluting the tank, removing the leaves can help to prevent the buildup of decomposing organic matter in the water, which can lead to water quality issues and harm the aquatic life in the tank. Decaying leaves release compounds that can lower the pH and lead to an increase in harmful nitrogen compounds, such as ammonia, which can be toxic to fish and other aquatic creatures. In general, when planting aquatic plants, it's important to balance their needs for energy and growth with the needs of the aquatic environment. Removing the leaves before replanting is one way to help achieve this balance, but it's just one of many different approaches, and the best one will depend on the specific needs of the plant, the environment, and the aquatic life in the tank. Hope this answers your doubts.

[@snerg64]

@Tropica Aquarium Plants Brilliant, thanks so much for your response. From now on, I will probably go for some sort of hybrid replanting solution that will suit my needs. Simply by keeping just a couple of leaves so the plant is anchored firmly and removing some to help plant conserve the energy. All the best, B.